is a Japanese

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who held the unified WBA and WBC

mini-flyweight Mini flyweight, also known as paperweight, minimumweight, strawweight, or super atomweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, boxers in the minimumweight division may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new ...

titles between 2011 and 2012, the

WBA (Regular) The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded i ...

light-flyweight title from 2012 to 2014, the WBA

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

title from 2016 to 2017, having previously held the

flyweight title from 2015 to 2016, and the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

super-flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council responded to pressure from As ...

title from 2019 to 2023, and the WBA super-flyweight title from 2023 to 2024.

Amateur career

Kazuto Ioka is the nephew of flyweight champion

Hiroki Ioka is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1999. He has held world championships in two weight classes, having held the WBC mini-flyweight title from 1987 to 1988, and the WBA light-flyweight title from 1991 to 1992. He ...

. Kazuto asked his father to teach him how to box as a teenager. His father, Kazunori Ioka, would continue training him through his amateur and professional career. Ioka amassed a record of 95–10 as an amateur, winning six national high school tournaments along the way. He reached the semifinals of the 2008 King's Cup, an amateur boxing tournament held in Thailand, before losing to Amnat Ruenroeng. Ioka joined Tokyo Agricultural University, hoping to represent his country in the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

but he would fall short on the qualifiers.

Highlights

*16th All Japan Selected High School Boxing Championships, Light flyweight Tournament winner (2005) *17th All Japan Selected High School Boxing Championships, Light flyweight Tournament winner (2006) *59th Inter-highschool championships, Boxing, Light flyweight Tournament winner *60th Inter-highschool championships, Boxing, Light flyweight Tournament winner *60th National Sports Festival, Boxing, Boys, Light flyweight Tournament winner *61st National Sports Festival, Boxing, Boys, Light flyweight Tournament winner *62nd National Sports Festival, Boxing, Adult, Light flyweight Tournament winner *63rd National Sports Festival, Boxing, Adult, Light flyweight Tournament winner

Professional career

Early career

Upon failing to qualify for the Olympics, Ioka dropped out from college and turned professional in 2009. On April 12, 2009, he fought against Thongthailek Sor Tanapinyo, and won his debut via a third-round technical knockout. After this victory, he won six straight victories. After winning 5 fights, Ioka competed for the vacant Japanese light flyweight title. Ioka captured the national title by stopping Masayoshi Segawa in the final 10th round.

Mini-flyweight

WBC mini-flyweight champion

In his next fight, Ioka won the WBC mini-flyweight title from Oleydong Sithsamerchai via a fifth-round technical knockout in the latter's seventh title defence at the

World Memorial Hall or World Hall is a multi-purpose arena located in the Chūō-ku Ward of Kobe, Japan. It has a maximum capacity of 8,000 people and is optimized for large-scale meetings, sport events, trade shows and concerts. It is located on the artificial isl ...

, in February 2011. Sithsamerchai was knocked down twice over the course of his first professional loss. Ioka went on to defend his title twice in 2011, first against Juan Hernández, winning via unanimous decision (118–111, 117–111, 116–112), and then against Yodgoen Tor Chalermchai, winning via first-round technical knockout on New Year's Eve 2011.

Unified mini-flyweight champion

On 20 June 2012, Ioka met WBA champion Akira Yaegashi in a match that marked the first time two Japanese fighters had met to unify world titles. The fight took place at the

Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium is an indoor sporting arena located in Namba, Osaka, Japan. It first opened in 1952 and the current building was constructed in 1987. It is the venue of a professional sumo tournament ( honbasho) held in March every year. The capacity of the ...

. Ioka defeated the WBA champion Akira Yaegashi via a unanimous decision (115–113, 115–113, 115–114). The two fighters exchanged hard shots throughout a tense, tactical fight. The fight ended with Yaegashi and Ioka trading combinations while looking for a knockout. From early in the fight, Yaegashi's eye was nearly shut. The ringside doctor performed several checks on it but Yaegashi was allowed to finish the fight. When asked whether the result would have been different unless he got swollen eyes, Yaegashi said "We should not think about it. There is no if's in boxing". The day after the fight, Ioka decided to move up a weight division.

Light-flyweight

WBA (Regular) light-flyweight champion

Shortly after the fight, Ioka moved up to light flyweight as well. On December 31, 2012, Ioka beat undefeated José Alfredo Rodríguez for the vacant

light-flyweight title at the

. Ioka knocked Rodríguez down once in round 1 and twice in round 6 before the referee stopped the fight. Ioka held the Regular version of the WBA's title, while Román Gonzalez was the

WBA (Super) The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded i ...

champion. Ioka went on to defend his title three times but he never faced González.

Flyweight

On February 28, 2014, Ioka would vacate the WBA (Regular) light flyweight title to move up to the

division. On May 7, 2014, Ioka faced Thai IBF champion Amnat Ruenroeng at the

. Ioka seemed to be the more active boxer but Ruenroeng landed heavier blows while countering Ioka. Ruenroeng lost a point for hitting after the break. Nevertheless, Ruenroeng retained his title with a

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split de ...

(119–108, 115–112, 113–114). The 119–108 card turned in by judge Pawel Kardyni was criticized as being far too wide.

WBA (Regular) flyweight champion

On April 22, 2015, Ioka defeated

champion Juan Carlos Reveco by

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (at ...

(116–113, 115–113, 114–114). The fight saw Reveco take the early rounds but Ioka came on strong in the middle rounds and got the nod in the end. Reveco appealed the decision to the World Boxing Association, who ordered an immediate rematch. Ioka was later granted a voluntary defense against Roberto Sosa, with the winner ordered to face Reveco. Ioka beat Sosa in a shutout unanimous decision (120–108, 119–109, 119–109). The Ioka-Reveco rematch was set for December 2015. Ioka outworked Reveco at the start of the match. However, Reveco started rallying in round 7. Ioka answered in kind, nearly knocking out Reveco. Reveco finally went down in round 11 following a series of hooks to the body. Ioka was nearing a deal to fight

flyweight champion

Juan Francisco Estrada Juan Francisco Estrada Romero (born April 14, 1990) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC super flyweight title between 2022 and 2024 and ''The Ring'' super flyweight title between 2019 and 20 ...

, when the latter vacated to compete at

super flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council responded to pressure from A ...

. Ioka was knocked down for the first time in his career against 18 year old challenger and WBA interim champion Stamp Kiatniwat. Ioka rallied, pummeling Kiatniwat to the body, until he finally dropped the challenger twice in round 9. The referee halted the fight with the second knockdown. The win was Ioka's fourth flyweight defense. In November 2017, Ioka vacated his title after five successful defenses. He was planning to defend on December 31 but his father stated that he would not be ready to do so, as he hadn't kept up with his training after getting married earlier in the year to

Nana Tanimura , is a Japanese pop singer. Background Tanimura was raised mainly in Osaka. She moved frequently between Osaka and Hawaii between the ages of 3 and 8, after which she also stayed for an extended period of time in Los Angeles. Tanimura was enr ...

. Ioka went on to announce his retirement at age 28 after getting married and reportedly falling out with his father and promoter, Kazunori Ioka.

Super-flyweight

On New Year's Eve in 2018, Ioka fought three weight champion Donnie Nietes for the vacant WBO super-flyweight title. Although many thought Ioka had done enough to win the fight, he controversially lost by

, with a 116–112 scorecard in his favor being overruled by 116–112 and 118–110 scorecards in favor of Nietes.

WBO super-flyweight champion

In June 2019, Ioka fought Aston Palicte for the vacant WBO super flyweight title. In the tenth round, after leading on all three judges' scorecards, Ioka scored a TKO victory to become the first Japanese boxer in history to win a major title in four weight classes. On New Year's Eve in 2019, Ioka fought undefeated

Jeyvier Cintrón Jeyvier Jesús Cintrón Ocasio (born February 8, 1995) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who challenged for the WBO junior bantamweight title in 2019. As an amateur, Cintrón represented Puerto Rico at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics as a flyweig ...

in his first defense of his WBO title, winning a twelve-round unanimous decision with two judges scoring the bout 116–112 and the third scoring it 115–113. Ioka made the second defense of his WBO title in an exciting fight against undefeated three weight champion and domestic foe

Kosei Tanaka is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2024. He is a four-weight world champion, having held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) mini-flyweight title from 2015 to 2016; the WBO junior-flyweight title from 2016 to 20 ...

on New Year's Eve 2020 in Tokyo. After a competitive first four rounds in which Tanaka was the aggressor and Ioka found success with counter punches, Ioka dropped his opponent in the fifth round with a counter left hook. With about a minute left in the sixth round, he again knocked Tanaka down. In the eighth round, Ioka caught his opponent with another hard counter left hook, and referee Michiaki Someya caught Tanaka before he could fall and waved off the fight, with Ioka retaining his WBO title via eighth-round technical knockout. On June 1, 2021, the WBO ordered Ioka to defend his super-flyweight title against their #2 contender in the division, former unified

champion Francisco Rodríguez Jr. The bout between Ioka and Rodríguez took place on September 1, 2021, in Tokyo. Ioka won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges awarding scores of 116–112 in his favor.

Ioka vs. Ancajas cancellation

Ioka was expected to face the IBF super flyweight champion

Jerwin Ancajas Jerwin Juntilla Ancajas (born 1 January 1992) is a Filipino professional boxer. He held the IBF junior-bantamweight title from 2016 to 2022. Personal life Jerwin was born and raised in Panabo, a suburb of Davao City, Philippines. He was in ...

in a title unification bout on December 31, 2021, at the

Ota City General Gymnasium Ota City General Gymnasium is an arena in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and exte ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The fight was officially postponed on December 3, as stricter

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

measures imposed by the Japanese government prevented Ancajas from entering the country. Ioka was rescheduled to face the WBO Asia Pacific and OPBF super flyweight champion Ryoji Fukunaga instead, on the same date and at the same venue. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 115–113, 116-112 and 118–110.

Ioka vs. Nietes II

On April 1, 2022, the WBO ordered Ioka to make a mandatory title defense against Donnie Nietes. The bout will be a rematch of their December 31, 2018, fight, which Nietes won by split decision. The pair came to an agreement a month later, and officially announced the bout for July 13. Ioka won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 120–108, 118–110 and 117–111.

WBA Super-Flyweight Champion

Ioka vs. Franco

On December 31, 2022, Ioka made his sixth super flyweight title defense in a unification bout with WBA champion Joshua Franco. They fought into a majority draw and retained both their titles. Ioka vacated the WBO title on February 14, in order to face Franco in a rematch after being ordered to make a mandatory title defense against

Junto Nakatani is a Japanese professional boxer. He has held world championships in three weight classes, including the World Boxing Organization (WBO) flyweight title from 2020 to 2022, the WBO junior-bantamweight title in 2023. He is currently the unifie ...

. Ioka beat Franco by unanimous decision to capture the WBA title, which was previously vacated as Franco failed to make weight.

Ioka vs. Perez

A year later, on 31 December, 2023, Ioka made the first defense of his WBA super-flyweight title against Venezuelan boxer Josber "Avalancha" Perez. With their bout taking place at Ota City General Gymnasium, Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. Ioka justified his role as the vast betting favorite by knocking out Perez in the 7th round of their scheduled 12-round bout.

=Ioka vs Martinez

= Ioka lost by unanimous decision to the IBF super-flyweight champion Fernando Martínez in a title unification bout on July 7, 2024. The contest took place at the

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The first ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the premises of the Ekōin temple i ...

Personal life

Ioka was born in

Sakai, Osaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its ''kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun' ...

, and currently resides in Tokyo. In April 2021, reports surfaced that Ioka had failed a drug test and tested positive for

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

, with the sample having been examined at length as part of an ongoing investigation with the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: National Revolut ...

as well as the Japanese Boxing Commission (JBC). Speaking on Ioka's behalf, his lawyer Masanao Hattori said that Ioka “strongly denies he has ever used” any form of cannabis, and suggested it could be attributed to the use of CBD oil. On 19 May 2021, Ioka was cleared of all doping charges, as it emerged that the JBC had mishandled the samples, and they took responsibility for their poor sample management.

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

* WBA minimumweight champion (105 lbs) * WBC minimumweight champion (105 lbs) * WBA (Regular) light flyweight champion (108 lbs) * WBA (Regular) flyweight champion (112 lbs) * WBA super flyweight champion (115 lbs) * WBO super flyweight champion (115 lbs)

Secondary major world titles

* WBA (Regular) light flyweight champion (108 lbs) * WBA (Regular) flyweight champion (112 lbs)

Silver world titles

WBC Silver The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

champion (115 lbs)

Regional/International titles

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

light flyweight champion (108 lbs)

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

*
Kazuto Ioka - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ioka, Kazuto 1989 births Living people Japanese male boxers Sportspeople from Sakai, Osaka World mini-flyweight boxing champions World light-flyweight boxing champions World flyweight boxing champions World super-flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions World Boxing Organization champions 21st-century Japanese sportsmen